So, to make sure that everything in your road trip goes along smoothly and you don’t end up stuck on the side of the road, prepare your car for the trip before you leave. Here are some tips and hacks that will allow you to get your car in the perfect condition for a road trip.

Catch Up On the Maintenance of the Car

Before you embark on a long cross-country road trip with your family, it is extremely important that you get your car in perfect condition. So, before starting your trip, take your car to a mechanic for a complete and detailed checkup. Taking your car to the mechanic before you leave will help you locate any small lingering problems that could affect your road trip later on.

You must ensure to get the engine and the transmission properly tuned up, and remember to change the oil and other fluids of your car. A properly maintained car will have a significantly lower chance of running into any problems along the way.

Tune Up the Brakes and Tires of Your Car

The most prominent and leading causes of accidents in the world are break failures and tire blowouts. If you are planning to drive a long distance on big highways, then it is very important that these two parts of your car are in their best condition. Make sure that the tires of your car are properly inflated especially during the summer season.

During summer, the chances of a blown out tire are increased significantly because of the sun-baked roads and weight on the car. Apart from the inflation of the tires, you also need to check if they have proper traction. If your tires have been in use for a while, you should consider changing them before starting a long trip. Also, remember to get your brakes tunes and put some brake fluid in them to keep them running smoothly.

Check Up On the Electronics of the Car

Sometimes even when a car is mechanically maintained, it still runs into problems and breaks down. This usually happens because of an electrical failure in the car. To avoid any problems like this, you should check up and maintain the electronics of the car as well before starting the trip.

Remember to check the battery of the car and check the wiring as well and replace any damaged wires. Other electrical components of the car such as the air conditioning unit, headlights, meters, cooling fan and stereo also need to be tuned and checked.

Pack an Emergency Safety Kit

We hope that you never need to use the emergency kit, but there is nothing wrong with being prepared. When you are leaving on a long road trip with your family, it is very important that you have a backup plan if the car breaks down. You should keep an emergency kit in the car which has items like some flashlights, batteries, extra headlight bulbs and electrical fuses, a car jumping kit and a tire replacing kit.

Join a Roadside Assistance Program

It doesn’t matter how prepared you are, sometimes you can run into car problems that are just out of your league. For the ease of mind and the assurance that you have a backup whenever you need it, you should consider joining a roadside assistance program before you leave for a long road trip. If you end up in a tricky situation, help will be just a phone call away. There are many roadside assistance programs in the US. Some of the most popular are AAA, AARP and Allstate.

Wash and Wax Your Car before Starting the Trip

It is important to keep your car clean and neat all the time, but before you leave for a long trip, it is good for the car if you wash and wax it because you may not get a chance to do so on the road and nobody wants to be driving around in a dusty and dirty car. So, take the car to the car wash a day before you leave, or you can even wash the car yourself at home.

Frankly, it is better to wash your car yourself at home. This way, you get more familiar with the car, and you understand it better. If you plan on regularly washing the car at home, then you should get the amazing electric car pressure washer. It will make the job easier for you.

Preplan Your Refueling and Maintenance Stops

Before embarking on a trip with all your family, you should take some time to familiarize yourself with the roads you will be travelling on. Get a map and study the route you will be taking. This way, you can pre-plan any maintenance and refueling stops. Also, if you run into some car problems that you cannot fix yourself, you will know where the nearby mechanic is.

Check the Coolant and Other Fluids of the Car

When you are driving on a long trip, remember to keep an eye on the heat gauge and as the car starts to heat up, replace the cooling liquid in the radiator. Remember to use a rag to open the cap of the radiator and stand clear the splash zone if the car is heated up because sometimes the hot water can burn you if you are not careful.

If the car does get heated up, the best thing is to let it cool down a bit before you open the cap of the radiator to replace the water. If your trip is a multiple-day trip, then remember to check the other fluids of the car such as engine coolant, engine oil and transmission fluids too before you leave and along the way. Have a wonderful trip!

About the Author:

Anthony Henson has been covering consumer technology for a decade now. He currently covers consumer electronics in the PC Labs as the in-house home entertainment expert, reviewing TVs, media hubs, speakers, headphones, and gaming accessories. He regularly writes blogs at https://www.helpful.reviews/en.

The post Hacks for Getting Your Car Ready for the Coming Family Road trip appeared first on Derek Time.

Prepare yourself

When preparing for road trips people often forget about the most important factor. You will probably shift your focus towards your vehicle and its needs, but what you should really be doing is looking at your own. Preparing yourself is the most important part of going on the road.

Road trips are much longer than you think. Most of the trip won’t be you driving while surrounded by beautiful coastlines and interesting locations. The great majority of your time spent on the road is going to be you and your family surrounded by nothing but open road and barren terrain. If you’re lucky, you might even run into some unplanned fun times. Still, you will need to find something to keep you all occupied while heading toward your next destination. Start by preparing a lot of snacks for the road. There’s nothing like a bag of chips to quench your hunger when you’re on a break.

You’ll need to prepare for the drive itself. A good night’s sleep is imperative if you want to function. Not getting enough shut-eye is one of the most dangerous things you can do before you get behind the wheel. Keep that in mind the night before you decide to head out.

Be smart with gas

Everyone knows that road trips aren’t exactly free. Getting someplace is going to cost you a pretty penny in terms of fuel. You want to be environmentally conscious during your trip and spend as little as possible. This can mean planning ahead a little bit. Predict where your trip will take you and find the most efficient way to get there. Maps won’t do you much good because they don’t show things like elevation. If you’re driving on flat terrain, it’s going to save you a lot of fuel and headaches in the organization. Rough roads aren’t fun to tread on and they don’t help you conserve fuel.

The way you drive is almost as important as where your road takes you. Acceleration takes up a large chunk of your fuel. Obviously, you can’t go anywhere if your car doesn’t accelerate, but you can mitigate the fuel loss by accelerating slower.

Be smart about what you bring on the trip. Having things that are a bit too heavy will slow you down significantly. Think of anything you put in your car as an additional cost in terms of fuel. If it’s more efficient to buy something elsewhere instead of bringing it with you, that might be your best bet.

Stay safe and alert

Road safety is one of those things nobody should take for granted. Travelling by car is no joke. It might be extremely widespread and ubiquitous at this point, but it’s still dangerous at its core. You’re driving at very large speeds in a humongous death machine that weighs literal tons. Staying safe should be your priority.

Start by checking the functionalities of your car. All the lights that signal other drivers should be in tip-top shape. When that’s taken care of, you shouldn’t forget a first aid kit. They can be particularly useful if you’re stuck somewhere where people can’t get to you in time.

Make sure your car is ready

Something like a road trip isn’t going to be like a regular drive with your car. Normally, you might drive a couple of miles to a destination before leaving your vehicle. This doesn’t put a lot of stress on your car. You usually have a lot of stops in-between due to things like traffic lights and traffic jams. However, going on a road trip is a whole different story. You’re not just putting a huge amount of stress on your car; you’re also doing it to your car’s tires.

You don’t want your vehicle to break down in the middle of nowhere. It has to be prepared before you head out towards your desired location. It might be wise to take it for a spin to your local auto repair shop in order to check if everything is working fine. It’s easy to take a risk when the nearest car shop is down the block. When you’re out there in the wilderness, you might not want to get stranded.

Check hotels and make reservations

If your trip is long enough, you’re going to want to have a place to stay for the night. When you’re travelling alone, the uncomfortable car backseat could be a viable alternative. However, travelling with your family makes this impossible. You will want to have a nice clean bed for all of you to lay down and rest.

Booking hotels can get quite tricky. This is especially true when you’re on a road trip. You might not have planned out the entirety of your trip before leaving. Some people like a little bit of spontaneity. So how will you know which hotels to book? The best idea is to take a tiny risk with this. You don’t have to book the hotels in advance, but you might want to check if the hotels along the way have a ton of available rooms during the time you’re travelling. This way, you can check in and they will likely still have some rooms left.

No matter where you’re headed, car trips are some of the most fun activities you can partake in. When you find yourself on the open road, you’re going to be glad you made this decision. Just make sure you’ve taken the right steps to prepare for this kind of trip.

The post Top 5 tips that will make your family road trip easier appeared first on Derek Time.